Carbondale’s $493,000 Third Street remake begins Monday

Craig Gose, of SGM, measures where saw cut lines will be laid on the street for the Third Street project. The nearly half-million-dollar streetscape project is slated to begin Monday and will close two-and-a-half blocks of the street for 10 weeks.

Construction on Carbondale's Third Street project is slated to start Monday, weather permitting, closing down Third Street from Sopris Avenue to the alley just south of Main Street for about 10 weeks.

This streetscape project, now with a $493,000 price tag, has been in the works for about a year, when the town began street tours and open houses to get community feedback on the improvements. This project is financially separate from the town's other capital projects, as the Carbondale Board of Trustees set aside money for Third Street in the streetscape fund.

The construction is going to involve three big components, said Kevin Schorzman, who started as Carbondale's new public works director in November.

First, irrigation laterals are going to be extended from the ditch running on the east side of Third Street to the west side in four locations, giving residents on the west side access to the ditch water.

One will be on the north side of Euclid. Another will be on the north side of the alley between Euclid and Garfield. A third will be on the north side of Garfield. And the last will be on the south side of Garfield.

The narrow 4-foot sidewalk on the west side of Third Street is going to be replaced with a wider, 6-foot sidewalk. This will help connect bike paths that run on the north and south sides of Third Street.

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Finally, the project will install ribbon curbs to better define parking along the street. Were there's currently only gravel running into the grass on lawns will be an 18-inch strip of concrete to clearly differentiate where to park.

The street currently has a mix of angled and parallel parking, which will remain with this project, said Schorzman.

Several dry wells are also being added to improve drainage. Currently the sidewalk in some places frequently turns into a small pond after a good rain or snow melt.

This project isn't going to involve completely removing the street, said Schorzman. Rather, it's more of a remodel of the edge of the street into the right of way.

While 10 weeks might seem like a long time to shut down those two and a half blocks, Schorzman said that the project will run quicker by shutting it down all at once. If the contractor only hit one block at a time, it could very well take until July 4 to complete, he said.

"I think it's important for people to understand that, by enduring a little pain, it will shorten the timeframe by about a third," he said.

During that time Third Street residents are going to have to park on side streets and alleys and walk to their houses.

The contractor, Johnson Construction from Rifle, is expected to work 7 a.m. to as late as 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

The contractor will also work with residents to get garbage cans emptied during this timeframe, he said.

Schorzman said he welcomes calls from residents that have special needs during the project, such as wheel chair access. He can be reached at 970-510-1217.